Elvis in Corfu

 

The King lives in the Shoe shops here!

Heartbreak Hotel :O)

Mizzen mast Service on Pontoon

We had the mast propped horizontally on the pontoon. You may recall we had to de-mast to get the Wind generator re-cabled properly.

This is looking down from what is the very top of the mast. Our steel man 'Croz' ( a great Geordie) drilled this big hole - you can see a steel bar in there as well ( this bar supports the pulleys) this is  also what prevented us Mousing the cable! That's Greg down there in the blue shirt.

Both masts were originally gold anodide but weathered back to the aluminium
over the years. So, we rubbed them down, gave one coat of etching Primer then a few coats of gold paint (not literally). Looking really good now and we can just imagine her when she made her first appearance on the launching ramp at Upham's yard in Brixham over forty years ago. Of course we have made a rod for our backs as the Spars have to be done as well :O) I am sure Lin & Rob will be delighted to see how much we are loving her. Funny thing, all the young lads working the season for Sailing Holidays just hang around asking questions about Lerryn Lady and want to sail her - can't beat the oldies it seems :O)

Easter Sunday in Corfu :O) Watch Video on Full Screen

All year round, households keep pots of water in their homes to attract bad spirits away from the family. Then come Easter,  the only sensible thing to do with the pots of 'nasties' is this  - happens island wide :O)

Credit for the video goes to a young Kiwi called Liam McCorkindale from Dunedin South Island - he was one of the guys helping us with the mast last week. Thanks Liam :O)

Just to let you know we have 8 people following the Blog in the Ukraine -

I would like to say 'Hello' to you  :O)

Я хотів би сказати, 'Привіт' до вас: O)

Lerryn Lady's Mizzen mast coming down - watch the video full screen!

 

Last Autumn we removed the wind generator from the top of the Mizzen ( the smaller mast) for servicing. It proved impossible to re-set the generator after the service because the cable feeder had been dog-legged when first fitted years ago. In order to get this sorted we've had to take the Mizzen mast down, lay it on the pontoon, and get our metal man, Croz, to drill a larger hole in the top of mast to clear the way to thread the cable again.  The video shows part of the process of de-masting with several ropes and willing helpers. We're fortunate to have loads of young guys about who are working for Sailing Holidays Corfu. They are all switched on and experienced AND willing to help out. We used the topping lifts on the boats either side to lift the mast out of the seat socket in the cockpit. It all went very smoothly and within half an hour of gentle manipulation we had the mast secure and supported on the pontoon. Later the lads came back and polished off a few crates of  beer - win win all round. More on the mast next week :O)

 

Almost there...

 

 

This is Isaac, concentrating on the job in hand. He was born in Cornwall but grew up on Orkney, sailing, fishing and messing about with engines!

 

 

 

We had to take Lerryn Lady out to align her Mizzen with the topping lifts on the yachts either side  - see our new passerelle hanging there :O)

 

 

Slowly bringing her back to the pontoon as the mast is manipulated.

Corfiot lady and rainbows

This little old lady stopped to tell me in Greek ( and explicit body language) about her arthritic knees. She's obviously walked miles in her day as her legs are in great condition ( all the way up)!! Greg told her he had a bit of arthritis in his wrist; I pointed to my head and she roared with laughter. We picked a small bag of the nasturtiums you can see on the right, had then in a salad later

 

Caught the tail end of a rainbow after a shower yesterday.

Blooming Corfu

Curtains of Wisteria and Jasmine perfume everywhere, Lerryn Lady is on the left behind the flowers. Noticed this morning that the Wisteria flowers are beginning to drop.

Lemons just begging to be picked. Recalling the mantra: 'If life throws lemons make lemonade,' yesterday I made a litre of lemon cordial.